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EU forests absorb around 10 per cent of total EU carbon emissions. Forests cover 40 per cent of Europe. Incentivising carbon renewal has serious Net Zero potential.

The post Put forest resilience at heart of carbon storage incentives budget, say experts appeared first on Euractiv.

La fin de semaine s’annonce sous un climat marqué par des températures hivernales et une baisse notable du mercure à travers tout le pays. D’après l’Office […]

L’article Temps et températures du jeudi 12 décembre : le froid persiste, voici la météo du jour ! est apparu en premier sur .

Between January 2023 and January 2024, Poland, Greece, and Hungary recorded the most significant population decreases. But migratory dynamics and an ageing population are also creating demographic challenges.

The post Hungarian presidency urges ‘intergenerational solidarity’ to meet demographic challenges, ageing population appeared first on Euractiv.

Polish climate minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska told a Brussels event that citizens must see the benefits of EU policies in the energy bills, as ‘anti-EU propaganda’ is making them question the union’s energy policies.

The post Energy security will be central to Polish presidency, says climate minister appeared first on Euractiv.

Une stratégie nationale de développement du commerce électronique au Bénin a été adoptée, mercredi 11 décembre 2024 en Conseil des ministres.

La stratégie nationale 2025-2029 de développement du commerce électronique au Bénin a été adoptée.

Elle a été élaborée par le ministère de l'Industrie et du Commerce dans le but de contribuer à faire du Bénin une plateforme de services numériques de l'Afrique de l'Ouest pour l'accélération de la croissance et l'inclusion sociale et de faire du commerce électronique un levier de compétitivité et de croissance durable à l'horizon 2029.

Selon le Conseil des ministres du 11 décembre 2024, l'efficacité d'une telle dynamique sera appréciée, sur la durée, à l'aune du renforcement des capacités et des compétences des acteurs, de l'amélioration des infrastructures et de la logistique, de la labellisation des produits et des processus ainsi que du renforcement de la confiance au numérique.

« La stratégie est structurée autour de deux orientations stratégiques que sont : l'amélioration de la gouvernance et des cadres institutionnel et organisationnel pour le développement du commerce électronique puis le renforcement de la culture du commerce électronique ».

Le gouvernement explique que « l'approbation impactera durablement tous les secteurs de l'économie, de la production à l'exportation, avec un développement conséquent du volet logistique. Elle constitue un levier important de croissance inclusive intégrant une forte implication des jeunes, des femmes et des personnes vulnérables ».
M. M.

Lancée le 5 décembre 2024, la campagne de commercialisation du soja grain s'achèvera le 30 avril 2025. Voici les conditions de déroulement de la campagne.

Les prix de vente du soja grain ont été fixées pour le compte de la campagne 2024-2025.

Le soja grain conventionnel est à 275 FCFA/Kg et une redevance de 5 FCFA/Kg est perçue pour les charges des fonctions critiques.

En ce qui concerne le soja grain biologique, il sera cédé à 325 FCFA/Kg et 5 FCFA/Kg pour les charges des fonctions critiques.

Ces prix ont été fixés de commun accord avec les acteurs à la suite des délibérations de l'Interprofession Soja mise en place pour défendre les intérêts des producteurs et des transformateurs.

Selon le point fait en Conseil des ministres de la campagne écoulée, « la production nationale de cette légumineuse connaît une bonne progression et s'est établie à 520.929 tonnes au titre de la campagne 2023-2024 ».

Cette « performance est ternie à la phase de commercialisation par la sortie frauduleuse des produits vers des pays voisins, pratique à laquelle s'adonnent certains producteurs et commerçants », a déploré le gouvernement.

Selon le Conseil des ministres, « une telle situation porte préjudice à l'essor de la filière, aux efforts d'industrialisation en cours dans notre pays et à la création des nombreux emplois qui en résultent. Elle constitue en outre un risque pouvant affecter gravement à long terme les intérêts des acteurs eux-mêmes en fragilisant leur Interprofession autant qu'elle compromettrait la diversification des sources de création de richesses pour l'économie nationale ». C'est dans cette perspective que le Conseil a instruit les ministres concernés à l'effet de veiller au respect de la mesure d'interdiction de l'exportation du soja par voie terrestre.
M. M.

Une lycéenne de 18 ans, poursuivie pour avoir menacé et agressé en octobre 2024 une enseignante qui lui demandait de retirer son voile dans un […]

L’article France : elle refuse de retirer son voile et agresse son enseignante, une lycéenne emprisonnées est apparu en premier sur .

Le ministre du Commerce intérieur et du contrôle du marché, Tayeb Zitouni, a annoncé ce mardi la saisie de plus de 6 000 tonnes de […]

L’article 6000T de café vert importé dissimulées au port d’Alger : les spéculateurs devant la justice est apparu en premier sur .

Elfogadta a fekvőbeteg-ellátás elérhetőségét garantáló intézkedésekkel kapcsolatos törvényt a parlament, amellyel munkára akarják kényszeríteni a felmondásukat benyújtó orvosokat. A törvénytervezetről gyorsított eljárásban tárgyaltak.

Csalók küldözgetnek SMS-eket az embereknek a karácsonyi ünnepek előtt. A rendőrség felszólították a lakosokat, hogy soha ne kattintsanak gyanús linkre.

Le groupe Stellantis a annoncé aujourd’hui des résultats plus que satisfaisants pour son usine Fiat à Oran. En effet, plus de 18 000 véhicules ont […]

L’article FIAT Algérie bat un nouveau record : Plus de 18 000 véhicules produits en un an est apparu en premier sur .

Novemberben közel 97 ezer utas fordult meg a pozsonyi M. R. Štefánik repülőtéren. Ez 17 százalékos növekedést jelent az előző év azonos időszakához képest.

Human activity has degraded over 70% of Earth’s land, with 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil lost annually. It takes up to 1,000 years to produce just 2-3 cm of soil. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

By Baher Kamal
MADRID, Dec 11 2024 (IPS)

The available data is self-explanatory: business-prompted human activities have already altered over 70% of the Earth’s lands, with 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil lost due to industrial agriculture, the excessive use of chemicals, overgrazing, deforestation, pollution and other major threats.

Human-caused extreme weather events, such as heavy rains followed by drought, accelerate soil degradation, while deforestation and overgrazing reduce soil quality by compacting it and depleting essential nutrients.

Much so that the United Nations system has identified that more than 40% of all fertile soils are already degraded.

This consequence is alarming enough if you learn that “it can take up to 1.000 years to produce just 2-3 cm of soil,” as explained by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and other specialised bodies like the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

 

The case of Africa

In the specific case of Africa, which is home to 1.3 billion people, this vast continent is responsable for barely 2-3% of global warming, yet falls prey to over 80% of its devastating consequences.

Add to this that African fertile soils are highly ambitioned by the international commercial business of massive food production and trade, which are generated through land grabbing, which leads to loss of fertility and water scarcity.

Consequently, Africa is usually associated with severe droughts, land degradation, hunger and famine, let alone the exploitation of its mineral resources, and dozens of armed conflicts.

 

The five major threats:

According to the UN, these are the five biggest causes and effects of the human-made disastrous situation:

 

1. Drought

Over one-third of the world’s population lives in water-scarce regions, according to the UNCCD’s Global Land Outlook report.

As land degrades, soil loses its ability to retain water, leading to vegetation loss and creating a vicious cycle of drought and erosion.

“This issue, exacerbated by climate change, is particularly severe in Sub-Saharan Africa, contributing to food insecurity and famine.”

Add to this that African fertile soils are highly ambitioned by the international commercial business of massive food production and trade, generated through land grabbing.

 

2. Land degradation

Human activity has altered more than 70% of the Earth’s land, causing widespread degradation of forests, peatlands, and grasslands to name a few ecosystems. This diminishes soil fertility, reduces crop yields and threatens food security.

 

3. Industrial farming

While industrial farming produces large volumes of food, it significantly harms soil health.

The use of heavy machinery, tilling, monocropping, and excessive pesticide and fertilizer use degrades soil quality, pollutes water sources and contributes to biodiversity loss.

Industrial agriculture also accounts for about 22% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

 

4. Chemicals and pollution

Soil pollution, often invisible, harms plant, animal and human health. Industrial processes, mining, poor waste management and unsustainable farming practices introduce chemicals, like synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and heavy metals, into the soil.

Excessive fertilizer use disrupts nutrient balance, while pesticides harm beneficial soil organisms, like earthworms and fungi. Heavy metals, like lead and mercury, accumulate in the soil, interfering with microbial activity and plant nutrient uptake.

 

5. Diet and nutrition

The world’s current diet and nutritional choices significantly affect soil health through the agricultural practices used to produce food. Diets reliant on staple crops, like wheat, corn and rice, often promote intensive monoculture farming.

This practice depletes soil nutrients, reduces organic matter, and leads to compaction and erosion.

Similarly, diets high in animal products, particularly beef, increase land use for grazing and feed crops. Overgrazing by livestock exacerbates soil compaction and erosion.

With these facts in hand, no wonder that the UN declared the years 2021 through 2030  the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

 

Any way out?

There are too many factors to justify the pressing need to act.

“Our planet’s survival depends on the precious link with soil. Over 95 percent of our food comes from soils. Besides, they supply 15 of the 18 naturally occurring chemical elements essential to plants,” the UN reminds.

The world body also reminds that there are solutions through feasible sustainable soil management practices, such as minimum tillage, crop rotation, organic matter addition, and cover cropping, improve soil health, reduce erosion and pollution, and enhance water infiltration and storage.

These practices also preserve soil biodiversity, improve fertility, and contribute to carbon sequestration, playing a crucial role in the fight against climate change.

Up to 58% more food could be produced through sustainable soil management, the UN unveils, and warns that agricultural production will have to increase by 60% to meet the global food demand in 2050.

 

The obscene greed…

Despite all the above, and no matter how many summits are held, greed standing behind such depletion remains unaltered.

In fact, giant industrial corporations – mostly originating in Western countries – seem to have no limits in their practices of making more and more profits, at any cost, including poisoning human, fauna and flora, in short, the whole natural system.

Much so that “big business’ windfall profits rocket to “obscene” $1 trillion a year amid cost-of-living crisis,” according to Oxfam, a global movement of people who are fighting inequality to end poverty and injustice, and ActionAid, a global federation working for a world free from poverty and injustice.

“722 mega-corporations raked in $1 trillion a year in windfall profits each year for the past two years amid soaring prices and interest rates, while billions of people are having to cut back or go hungry,” unveil the two big civil society coalitions.

 

Only business matters?

A small tax on just seven of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies could grow the UN Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage by more than 2000%, as shown in an analysis by environmental organisations Greenpeace International and Stamp Out Poverty.

“Taxing ExxonMobil’s 2023 extraction could pay for half the cost of Hurricane Beryl, which ravaged large parts of the Caribbean, Mexico and the USA…

… Taxing Shell’s 2023 extraction could cover much of Typhoon Carina’s damages, one of the worst that the Philippines experienced this year. Taxing TotalEnergies’ 2023 extraction could cover over 30 times Kenya’s 2024 floods.”

What appears to matter most is that the business of global trade is poised to hit a record 33 trillion USD in 2024, marking a 1 trillion USD increase over 2023, according to the UN trade and development body (UNCTAD)’s Global Trade Update.

 

Le Conseil des États a approuvé la récolte électronique de paraphes. Une alliance bourgeoise pourrait toutefois couler le projet au National.

Le Tessinois offre à la Suisse son premier titre mondial dans des courses en bassin, un record du monde à la clé.

Ramatoulaye Ba Faye, ambassador of Senegal in the Netherlands, gives testimony at the ICJ. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

By Joyce Chimbi
THE HAGUE & NAIROBI, Dec 11 2024 (IPS)

The Seychelles consider the ongoing public hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) both timely and critical “for the people of the small island developing state in the middle of the Indian Ocean,” Flavien Joubert, Minister for Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment of the Seychelles, told the court today.

With a population of only 100,000, a territory that is 99.99 percent ocean and 0.01 percent land. Seychelles was first settled by French colonists and African slaves in the 18th century.

“We are today a proud Creole people, with big aspirations gathered from the five corners of this earth We are considered one of the most successful examples of racial integration, living in one of the most exotic spots in the world, with majestic mountains, green forests, pristine beaches, and a clear blue sea. But we face special vulnerabilities to climate change.”

Joubert made Seychelle’s submissions at the ongoing ICJ public hearings, where climate-vulnerable nations continue to make statements to demonstrate violations of the right to self-determination, human rights and historical polluter States’ legal responsibilities. The public hearings started on December 2, 2024 and will conclude on Friday, December 13.

Unjust, Unfair Consequences of Massive Emissions—Seychelles 

He spoke of what was at stake in the Seychelles, home to 115 islands and two UNESCO World Heritage sites. He said the small island state was significantly impacted by the consequences of the massive anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, despite contributing less than 0.003 percent of the world’s cumulative emissions.

“This is unfair. This is unjust. We ask the Court to consider that the loss of ecosystems within the multiple island states scattered throughout our oceans will irreversibly and negatively impact the entire world’s ecosystem. Seychelles expects that this Court’s advisory opinion will ensure that states are reminded of their obligations and are held accountable for their actions and their inactions,” Joubert said.

“We pray the court to duly confirm that, as already clarified by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in relation to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), States have a legal obligation to take urgent action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This is essential for the very survival of small island states like the Seychelles.”

Precautionary Principal Crucial—Senegal

In her submissions today, Ramatoulaye Ba Faye, ambassador of Senegal in the Netherlands, highlighted the precautionary principle that enables decision-makers to adopt precautionary measures when scientific evidence about an environmental or human health hazard is uncertain and the stakes are high.

“It may then lead states to not delay the adoption of measures to mitigate serious or irreversible damage to the environment,” she said, adding that the “principle is upgraded into a legally binding obligation incumbent on all states in a number of international conventions.”

Faye raised concerns that in some international courtrooms, the precautionary principle had not always been seen as a legal obligation.

“However, we feel the scope and urgency of the climate threat should help us overcome this reluctance. We feel we are indeed faced with a textbook example of a need to change the law to adapt to new circumstances fraught with danger.”

Marwan A. M. Khier, Chargé d’affaires, Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan in the Netherlands, told the ICJ that Sudan is among the nations most severely affected by the adverse consequences of climate change. The country had experienced several natural disasters, including unprecedented floods and torrential rains that have caused imminent damage to livelihoods, infrastructure, and lives.

“Date crops vital for local subsistence have been destroyed,” Khier said. He elaborated on the impact on the Nile, Red Sea, and Qasr which had been devastated by unusual flooding, turning parts of these regions into disaster zones with significant loss of lives and livelihoods.

“Furthermore, rising temperatures, droughts, land degradation, and water scarcity have worsened food shortages and forced widespread displacement,” Khier said.

Conflict Driven By Climate Change—Sudan

Stressing that the Darfur crisis in Sudan, which began in 2003, is closely linked to climate change. Prolonged droughts and reduced rainfall have made access to water and arable land increasingly scarce, leading to conflicts among communities competing for limited resources. The resulting food and income shortage has aggravated tensions, exacerbating the conflict. Many people have been forced to leave their homes and endure challenging conditions in camps.

“Aligning with the voice of the African continent and the least developed countries, Sudan calls for the urgent and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement. However, ongoing economic and political sanctions that restrict access to bilateral climate finance—a critical source of funding for climate action in developing nations—have left Sudan increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Despite these challenges, Sudan remains actively engaged in global, regional and national efforts to fight climate change,” Khier emphasised.

He said Sudan holds great hope for the success of the Paris Agreement despite the significant challenges it faces and called for the necessary financial support to implement national climate-related projects. Moreover, Sudan has urged developed nations to fulfill their financial commitments and transfer technologies to enhance international cooperation in addressing climate change, particularly for the most vulnerable countries.

“My country co-sponsored General Assembly Resolution No. 77-276 and supported the request for the advisory opinion that led to these proceedings. We believe that the court’s opinion could significantly contribute to the legal perspective on addressing the global issue of climate change,” Khier said.

Cristelle Pratt, Assistant Secretary-General for Environment and Climate Action for the Organization of African Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), stressed in a statement that ongoing public hearings should be considered a landmark, as presentations from its members representing some of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries across African, Caribbean and Pacific regions painted a picture of climate catastrophe and the violation of international laws.

Pratt lauded OACPS members, noting they were relatively new states and with many sharing “colonial histories with the major historical polluters.”

She continued that it was the first time for many to appear before the ICJ to advocate for their rights, with some members making very compelling arguments that this fight for climate justice was a fight “once again for their self-determination.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Excerpt:

Conflict and climate change are closely linked, the International Court of Justice heard. The Darfur crisis in Sudan is one such conflict where prolonged droughts and reduced rainfall have made access to water and arable land increasingly scarce, leading to friction between communities competing for limited resources.

Gold! Noè Ponti holt an der Kurzbahn-WM in Budapest über 50 m Delfin eine Medaille.